Just a ramble really...
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catbrand
Posts: 227 Member
OK, so I wanted to talk to like-minded people about my progress... I completed my reset a couple of months ago and moved onto my cut (I went for 10%) but before long I stopped losing and started to cheat, especially at weekends. I also started to let my exercise slip and I felt like my whole new 'way of life' was slipping away, so I needed to take some drastic action.
Last week I moved back up to TDEE, I thought if I was cheating then maybe I needed the extra calories? I also started NROLFW this week. I'd been playing with kettlebells, but I didn't have a strict program to follow so I was getting lazy. So far I feel great on the extra calories, I'm set at 2300 cals and 40/30/30 on my macros, and I feel good eating that way as to be honest, I can't quite manage it all, so there's no need to cheat! I also have extra energy for my kickboxing workouts and I can snack whenever I feel like it too!
But, I'm sure I'm gaining! I've hidden my scales as I know it's inevitable since I've just started NROLFW and increased my calories, it would be foolish of me to assume otherwise, wouldn't it? I can feel my jeans getting tighter and I just 'feel' pudgier! (I'm not measuring just yet either!) So I know weight gain is going to happen, I just have to get my head round it!
Having done the maths on Scooby, I'm either eating at maintenance if my activity level is 3-5 hours or at a 10% cut if I'm doing 5-6 hours. I'm not 100% sure where I am at the moment, so either way, I'm sure it'll work out in the end. If I'm underestimating my activity level, which I doubt, then I'll look at this whole thing as a bulk I guess!!
So yeah, that's my ramble. If anyone has any input I'd love to hear it! It's kind of like a blog post / me thinking out loud, but no-one ever reads my blog anyway lol!!
Last week I moved back up to TDEE, I thought if I was cheating then maybe I needed the extra calories? I also started NROLFW this week. I'd been playing with kettlebells, but I didn't have a strict program to follow so I was getting lazy. So far I feel great on the extra calories, I'm set at 2300 cals and 40/30/30 on my macros, and I feel good eating that way as to be honest, I can't quite manage it all, so there's no need to cheat! I also have extra energy for my kickboxing workouts and I can snack whenever I feel like it too!
But, I'm sure I'm gaining! I've hidden my scales as I know it's inevitable since I've just started NROLFW and increased my calories, it would be foolish of me to assume otherwise, wouldn't it? I can feel my jeans getting tighter and I just 'feel' pudgier! (I'm not measuring just yet either!) So I know weight gain is going to happen, I just have to get my head round it!
Having done the maths on Scooby, I'm either eating at maintenance if my activity level is 3-5 hours or at a 10% cut if I'm doing 5-6 hours. I'm not 100% sure where I am at the moment, so either way, I'm sure it'll work out in the end. If I'm underestimating my activity level, which I doubt, then I'll look at this whole thing as a bulk I guess!!
So yeah, that's my ramble. If anyone has any input I'd love to hear it! It's kind of like a blog post / me thinking out loud, but no-one ever reads my blog anyway lol!!
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Absolutely natural to gain after upping cals. And even more so when you start a heavy lifting program. All the fluid and glycogen in your muscles, the process in helping them repair and get stronger.
I've put on 11lb and it hasn't disappeared the entire time, and my body is used to lifting but after a particularly intense workout I still have the tendency to blow up like a balloon. Yet everything is smaller and tighter.
Good on you for putting the scale away, I wish more people would do that. It's not an accurate reflection of your progress and cannot tell you if your body fat has decreased so why bother, right?!
Anyway, everything you've described is completely normal and I would keep the scale in the closet and watch what happens to your body from the lifting because it's AWESOME!!
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Thanks for the reply!! I was a bit bored last night and just wanted to write about my journey so far lol!! It's nice to hear that confirmation about weight gain, even though I've read it a hundred times, it's still good to have someone say it to you!!
This morning I feel great after my rest day! I don't feel fatter at all, I feel and look great! I don't care what I weigh and I'm looking forward to my kickboxing workout tonight and my lifting tomorrow. Hooray for extra calories!!0 -
Yeah, putting the scale away was a smart move.
I too have gained 15 lbs during the whole process, and have not lost anything. But cloths are fitting nicely now, after they have been very tight at the end of resetting, where I only had gained 10 lbs.
I think upping the cals was good, since you cheated. Your body obviously needed more energy.
Keep rocking and things will be alright0 -
Just an update (I think this thread might turn into my diary lol)
I've been doing NROLFW for about two weeks now. I'm feeling much stronger and I've increased my weights a huge amount since I started. I absolutely love the program and the way I can incorporate in into my usual exercise routine and the rest of my life.
I'm still eating at TDEE. I love this amount of calories, I get good sized meals, two or three snacks, and protein shakes to keep my metabolism going, which in turn has stopped me snacking/binging apart from one day this week when I pigged out on chocolate and Chinese takeaway (which always happens when I have PMT,) But generally, this amount of calories feels right, although a quick review of my exercise over the last fortnight says I'm doing 1-2 hours a week more than I thought, so maybe I'm eating under TDEE? I don't think so though.
I know I said I had hidden the scales, but I did a cheeky weigh in on Monday and I'd gained 0.8lb which was fine by me given all the strength training and water retention and then I weighed again on Thursday after the chocolate and Chinese binge and had gained another 0.6lb again, unsurprising given the sodium and TOM. The scales went back in the cupboard minus the batteries at this point! So I measured this morning, not properly though and noticed a few gains. I don't know if that is due to a strenuous workout last night (I upped the weight on all the exercises) or if I'm eating too much and I'm actually putting on weight.
I think maybe it's too early to be freaking out about putting on weight, I really don't want to cut calories as I really like this level so I'm going to give it another couple of weeks or a month and see how the measurements go. According to scooby I should be losing fat and gaining muscle by eating at TDEE, is that realistic? That's exactly what I'm aiming for.
Cat.0
